


It's Only Spilled Coffee

by failwolfhale



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Stiles Wears Glasses, awkward!derek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-15
Updated: 2013-10-15
Packaged: 2017-12-29 11:30:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1004912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/failwolfhale/pseuds/failwolfhale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Or the one where Derek is an awkward history major and likes to stare at the junior who lives in his dorm building. </p><p>--</p><p>For mine and Keri's fic battle. :3</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Only Spilled Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> Pre-read by my wife and best friend [Juily](http://spooklinski.tumblr.com) but all mistakes are my own. 
> 
> In this 'verse it's my headcanon that Derek and Jennifer are those friends who were friends first and then thought they owed it to themselves to try to date but then it was just awkward and they're just back to being friends again. In case you were wondering.

The first time Derek saw him, he was laying on the huge couch in the common room with his head in the lap of a vivacious blonde who was scratching fingers through his hair while a stunning redhead painted his toenails a startling shade of purple. Derek thought he’d never seen someone look so content and comfortable with themselves; it captivated him. 

He stood staring until he felt someone prod him in the back and he turned to see Isaac smirking at him. Derek rolled his eyes and cast one last look at the boy getting his toenails painted before rounding the corner where the elevators were so he could go up to his dorm room. He had the feeling it was going to be a long year.

++

The next time Derek saw him was four days later in the quad and he was wearing dark framed glasses and a beanie and the same blonde and redhead before were sitting on either side of him on the blanket they had spread out under a huge oak. He was laying on his back with his head in the redhead’s lap and a book propped on his chest, the blonde’s head resting on his stomach while they studied.

“Stiles!” someone yelled and Derek startled slightly, wondering what the hell a Stiles was.

But his question was answered when he saw a dark haired boy was the one who shouted and was running towards nail polish guy. Nail polish guy had jumped up from the blanket and the girls were staring after him in fond exasperation as he took off running for the dark haired boy. They came together and fell to the grass in a mess of limbs and laughter and Derek thought they looked like a fucking advert for how great college was as they wrestled playfully. 

“Staring at freshman, hm? Little creepy there, Derek?” a voice purred and Derek turned to look at Jennifer, rolling his eyes. 

“He’s a junior,” he replied defensively and realized his mistake when Jenn’s blue eyes lit up. “I saw what text books he was holding, shut up.”

“So you’re staring _and_ stalking, hmm,” she accused with a happy laugh, looping an arm around his shoulders and turning to the two boys who now had their arms around each other’s shoulders and were making their way back to the blanket where another dark haired girl had taken up residence with the other two. “So which one is it?” 

Derek didn’t have to answer though because the dark haired boy flopped down next to the dark haired girl who leaned over to kiss him gently while purple toenail guy - Stiles is what he’d been called - took his position back with his head in the redhead’s lap and the blonde’s head on his belly. 

“So the glasses guy then,” Jenn decided with a nod and Derek gave her a look. 

“I don’t know why we’re friends,” he sighed, shaking his head and hefting his book back further up his shoulder and continuing on his way to the small coffee shop just off campus. 

“Well he’s cute,” Jenn allowed with an appreciative hum as she followed beside him, eyes still on Stiles. 

Derek shoved Jenn’s arm off him and shook his head, frowning ahead of him and decidedly not looking over at the group of sophomores. “Shut up, Jenn.” 

++

The seventh time must really be the charm because the next time Derek saw Stiles it was at his favorite coffee shop when Derek literally ran into him and spilled his coffee everywhere. He spluttered for a moment and then just sort of froze when he saw Stiles struggling to pull both his t-shirt and plaid overshirt completely off, getting tangled up in the process. Finally Stiles threw them both to the ground and his chest was a little bit red from the coffee.

“Motherfucker,” Stiles hissed, looking down at his chest and prodding at the flushed skin. 

“I’m- I’m really sorry,” Derek apologized quickly, eyes huge and panicked because of course this would be Stiles’ first impression of him - the asshole who spilled coffee all over him. Awesome. Just Derek’s luck.

Stiles glanced up and for a split second Derek thought he was gonna yell at him or hit him but then Stiles seemed to pause. The flush in his cheeks must just be from annoyance. Derek was sure of it. “No, it’s- it’s fine. Haven’t I seen you around before?” he asked, tilting his head a little to the side thought Derek didn’t see because he was too distracted by the subtle muscle he could see beneath mole dotted skin. “Uhhh.” 

Derek looked away quickly when Stiles started to pull on his plaid overshirt again, covering his chest. Fuck, he was such a creeper. Jenn was right. “I don’t think so. Think you’ve seen me, I mean. I haven’t seen you before,” Derek answered bluntly, words falling out of his mouth quickly. 

“O-oh,” Stiles hummed and Derek kicked himself because was that disappointment on his face? Did Derek ever not screw things up for himself? “Well, I should go...change or something before my lecture.”

“I’m- I’m really sorry. Again,” Derek apologized, repeating himself and hearing Laura’s condescending laugh in his head at his social failures. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Stiles said and disappeared out the door, leaving coffee on the ground and a crushed paper cup behind in his wake. 

++

For a few days after that, Derek spent his time hanging around the places he’d seen Stiles before, Stiles’ favorite coffee - which Isaac told him since he works at the coffee shop - clutched in his hand while he waited around to apologize. When Stiles finally appeared on the sixth day, Derek panicked and ended up shoving it in his face with a hurried apology, barely waiting to see Stiles wasn’t going to drop it before he completely ran away. 

He only realized afterwards that he’d used Stiles’ name in the apology and Stiles had never given his name. Derek was just a creep who _knew_ his name because he unconsciously sought Stiles out just to look at him and see him with his friends. Derek groaned to himself and shook his head, leaning against the door and lightly hitting his head against it. 

“You’re such an idiot, Derek,” he muttered to himself and jumped when he heard a soft chuckle behind him, turning to see Boyd at his desk doing schoolwork. 

“Yea, you are,” Boyd agreed with a sage nod, glancing up at Derek from his computer screen only briefly before his fingers started flying over the keyboard with practiced ease. “What for in particular this time, though? Still buying coffee and stalking that guy?”

“I’m not _stalking_ him. I’m waiting for him around places I’ve seen him before so that I can apologize for ruining his shirt and making him strip down in a coffee shop,” Derek responded with an indignant huff, going to sit on his bed and taking off his boots before burying his head under his pillow. “I’m going to sleep. Wake me up when graduation comes.” 

“I don’t think it works quite that way,” Boyd responded and Derek rolled his eyes to himself but didn’t say anything in return, choosing to stay quiet. 

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and Derek flapped a hand around until Boyd got up to answer it. Their voices were muffled where Derek was stuck under fabric and feathers and then Boyd was yanking his pillow away and looming. “It’s for you, idiot,” he said, tossing the pillow at Derek’s feet and going to his laptop again, putting earphones in. 

Derek’s brow furrowed because he only had a few friends and none of them would knock. Which of course meant that when he stood and moved into sight of the door, it was Stiles standing there holding the cup of coffee Derek had shoved at him. Derek’s heart sped up but he steeled himself and moved forward, licking his lips. 

“Hey,” Stiles started, effectively cutting off…. well Derek didn’t know what he had been about to say anyways. “So I know you’ve been hanging around with my favorite coffee everywhere and I know that because Isaac told me. He’s in one of my philosophy lectures and we bonded over hating philosophy but also coffee cuz he works at the coffee shop.” Derek was beet red and ready to knock Isaac into the ground - not really, he’d had enough of that from his dad before the Hale’s took guardianship of him - by that point but Stiles kept going, giving Derek a shy but crooked grin. “You could’ve just, like, asked me out you know. Cuz you’re really kinda hot and I know you’re smart cuz my friend Erica sits behind you in your Transformation of something something in Early Modern Europe class and she says you’re kinda awkward. But I’m awkward too so maybe you should ask me on a date, I think.” 

Derek stared at him dumbly for a second and then the first words out of his mouth were, “Transformation of Jewish Culture in Early Modern Europe.” Then he flushed again because yea, correcting the guy he kinda maybe wanted to date wasn’t such a good second impression. “Sorry. Uhm. Yes, okay. Are- do you wanna do something with me maybe? Friday night if you don’t already have plans?” 

“Yes,” Stiles answered with a dazzling grin that had Derek’s heart speeding up significantly in his chest and giving a dazed smile in return. “By the way. My friend Erica that I told you about before wants to know if your roommate is single.”

“Boyd?” Derek asked, glancing back in the room at his friend who was still listening to music and oblivious to the awkward fest going on in the doorway. “Yea, he’s single.” 

“Awesome, she’ll be thrilled,” Stiles said with a wide grin and they stood awkwardly for a few seconds, smiling at each other - wide and uncaring on Stiles’ end, shy but friendly on Derek’s. “Anyways,” Stiles continued, rubbing the back of his neck and licking his lips. “I should get going. I have homework to finish if I want to be free this weekend.” 

“Yea, of course. Sure,” Derek said with a nod, not sure what was the protocol now. Did he hug Stiles or shake his hand or what? 

Stiles took that decision out of his hands when he stepped forward and pressed a quick kiss to Derek’s cheek, smiling bright and happy. “I’ll see you on Friday. Third floor, room 347 okay?” 

Derek just nodded dumbly and smiled at nothing until Stiles was out of sight, closing and leaning against the door. 

“So is Erica the sexy blonde or the,” Boyd paused as he tried to come up with an accurate description of Lydia. “Redhead?” Boyd finished in defeat and Derek snorted, throwing a pen at Boyd’s head.

“The blonde.”

Boyd nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. “I could definitely be on board with that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come [tumble](http://spookywolfhale.tumblr.com) with me!


End file.
